Music industry veteran Richard Evans has penned a review of electronic pop’s heydey between 1979 and 1983. Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure founder Vice Clarke has written its foreward.

From publishers Omnibus Press: “This definitive account explores how krautrock, disco, glam rock and punk inspired a new generation to rip up the rulebook and venture toward a new frontier of electronic music – one that laid the foundations for hip hop, house, techno and beyond.”

Evans is a genuine authority. His 30-plus-year career has included stints at Factory Records, London Records and MTV Europe. More recently, he launched a website and label called This Is Not Retro. Listening to the Music the Machines Make drops Nov. 17.